# 1997 London Monarchs season

The 1997 London Monarchs season was the fifth season for the franchise in the World League of American Football (WLAF). The team was led by head coach Lionel Taylor in his second year, and played its home games at Stamford Bridge in London, England. They finished the regular season in sixth place with a record of four wins and six losses.

## Offseason
### World League draft

1997 London Monarchs World League draft selections :
| Draft order | Draft order | Player name | Position | College |
| Round | Choice | Player name | Position | College |
| 1 | 2 | Ben Williams | DT | Minnesota |
| 2 | 8 | Avrom Smith | RB | New Hampshire |
| 3 | 17 | George Harris | S | Kentucky |
| 4 | 20 | Andre Bowden | LB | Fayetteville State |
| 5 | 29 | Tony Hargain | WR | Oregon |
| 6 | 32 | Joe King | CB | Oklahoma State |
| 7 | 41 | Ryan McCoy | LB | Houston |
| 8 | 44 | Brandon Moore | T | Duke |
| 9 | 53 | John Stonehouse | P | USC |
| 10 | 56 | Tommy Fagan | DE | Northeast Louisiana |
| 11 | 65 | Brian Collins | TE | Texas Christian |
| 12 | 68 | Reggie Holt | S | Wisconsin |
| 13 | 77 | Ed Hobbs | RB | Albany State |
| 14 | 80 | Jason Stinson | C | Louisville |
| 15 | 89 | Mario Bradley | CB | USC |
| 16 | 92 | Barry Rose | WR | Wisconsin–Stevens Point |
| 17 | 101 | Johnnie Williams | S | Miami (Ohio) |
| 18 | 104 | Linzy Collins | WR | Missouri |
| 19 | 113 | Fritz Fequiere | G | Iowa |
| 20 | 116 | Malcolm Showell | DE | Delaware State |
| 21 | 124 | Greg Smith | WR | Western Colorado |
| 22 | 125 | Brian Greenfield | P | Pittsburgh |

## Schedule

| Week | Date | Kickoff | Opponent | Results | Results | Game site | Attendance |
| Week | Date | Kickoff | Opponent | Final score | Team record | Game site | Attendance |
| 1 | Sunday, April 13 | 3:00 p.m. | Frankfurt Galaxy | W 14–7 | 1–0 | Stamford Bridge | 10,718 |
| 2 | Sunday, April 20 | 3:00 p.m. | at Rhein Fire | L 6–28 | 1–1 | Rheinstadion | 14,876 |
| 3 | Saturday, April 26 | 7:00 p.m. | at Amsterdam Admirals | L 6–34 | 1–2 | Amsterdam ArenA | 13,767 |
| 4 | Sunday, May 4 | 3:00 p.m. | Barcelona Dragons | L 32–37 | 1–3 | Stamford Bridge | 10,110 |
| 5 | Sunday, May 11 | 3:00 p.m. | Scottish Claymores | W 16–8 | 2–3 | Stamford Bridge | 11,210 |
| 6 | Saturday, May 17 | 7:30 p.m. | at Barcelona Dragons | W 9–7 | 3–3 | Estadi Olímpic de Montjuïc | 13,514 |
| 7 | Saturday, May 24 | 7:00 p.m. | at Frankfurt Galaxy | L 7–31 | 3–4 | Waldstadion | 30,723 |
| 8 | Sunday, June 1 | 3:00 p.m. | Amsterdam Admirals | L 9–13 | 3–5 | Stamford Bridge | 9,150 |
| 9 | Sunday, June 8 | 3:00 p.m. | at Scottish Claymores | W 10–9 | 4–5 | Murrayfield Stadium | 16,115 |
| 10 | Sunday, June 15 | 3:00 p.m. | Rhein Fire | L 7–10 | 4–6 | Stamford Bridge | 10,462 |

## Standings

World League of American Football :
| Team | W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA | Home | Road | STK |
| Rhein Fire | 7 | 3 | 0 | .700 | 206 | 146 | 3–2 | 4–1 | W3 |
| Barcelona Dragons | 5 | 5 | 0 | .500 | 236 | 209 | 2–3 | 3–2 | W1 |
| Scottish Claymores | 5 | 5 | 0 | .500 | 134 | 154 | 2–3 | 3–2 | L2 |
| Amsterdam Admirals | 5 | 5 | 0 | .500 | 156 | 160 | 4–1 | 1–4 | W1 |
| Frankfurt Galaxy | 4 | 6 | 0 | .400 | 147 | 142 | 3–2 | 1–4 | L1 |
| London Monarchs | 4 | 6 | 0 | .400 | 116 | 184 | 2–3 | 2–3 | L1 |

## Game summaries
### Week 1: vs Frankfurt Galaxy

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Frankfurt | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| London | 0 | 6 | 6 | 2 | 14 |
at Stamford Bridge, London, England
* Date: Sunday, April 13
* Game time: 3:00 p.m. BST
* Game attendance: 10,718
* Referee: Bill Carollo

### Week 2: at Rhein Fire

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| London | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 6 |
| Rhein | 0 | 0 | 14 | 14 | 28 |
at Rheinstadion, Düsseldorf, Germany
* Date: Sunday, April 20
* Game time: 3:00 p.m. CEST
* Game attendance: 14,876

### Week 3: at Amsterdam Admirals

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| London | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Amsterdam | 7 | 13 | 0 | 14 | 34 |
at Amsterdam ArenA, Amsterdam, Netherlands
* Date: Saturday, April 26
* Game time: 7:00 p.m. CEST
* Game attendance: 13,767
* Referee: Walt Coleman

### Week 7: at Frankfurt Galaxy

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| London | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| Frankfurt | 6 | 11 | 0 | 14 | 31 |
at Waldstadion, Frankfurt, Germany
* Date: Saturday, May 24
* Game time: 7:00 p.m. CEST
* Game attendance: 30,723

### Week 8: vs Amsterdam Admirals

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Amsterdam | 7 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 13 |
| London | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 9 |
at Stamford Bridge, London, England
* Date: Sunday, June 1
* Game time: 3:00 p.m. BST
* Game attendance: 9,150

### Week 10: vs Rhein Fire

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Rhein | 0 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 10 |
| London | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
at Stamford Bridge, London, England
* Date: Sunday, June 15
* Game time: 3:00 p.m. BST
* Game attendance: 10,462
* Referee: Phil Luckett

## Awards

After the completion of the regular season, the All-World League team was selected by members of the media. Overall, London had two players selected. The selections were:
* Richard Newbill, linebacker
* Malcolm Showell, defensive end